Retirees across Iran held protests over the past week, demanding overdue pension payments and relief from rising cost of living according to voice and video submissions sent to Iran International.
Demonstrations were reported in cities including Zanjan, Tabriz, Tehran, Esfahan, Gilan and Fars, with participants chanting slogans that reflected both economic hardship and political frustration, lapse in their pay and benefits.
In Zanjan and Tabriz, retirees gathered outside government buildings, chanting: “People's rights must be settled,” and “Yesterday's warriors are today's claimants. Yesterday's fighters are today's rights-seekers.”
The term “warriors” refers to veterans of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, many of whom now face financial insecurity.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry issued a confidential warning in August, anticipating serious fallout from the potential return of UN sanctions under the snapback mechanism.
In Tehran and Esfahan, protesters voiced anger at financial mismanagement, shouting: “The major shareholder devoured our rights,” and “Don't delay—settle our dues today.”
Some chants directly challenged official narratives, with demonstrators declaring: “Our enemy is right here; they lie that it's America.”
In Gilan and Fars provinces, retirees accused both parliament and the government of deceiving the public. “Parliament and government both lie to the nation,” one group chanted, while another called out: “Cry out against this endless injustice!”
Price hike on rise
The protests come amid a sharp rise in consumer prices following the reactivation of UN sanctions by European powers last month. Basic goods have become increasingly unaffordable for many Iranians, particularly those on fixed incomes.
A grocer in Tehran shared a video showing his dwindling stock of rice, lamenting the price rise: “Top-grade Pakistani rice was 14.5 million rials ($13) before. A month later, it hit 21 million rials ($19). How can a head of a family with monthly income of 20 million rials ($18) could afford just for rice?”
Iran’s minimum monthly wage for 2025 stands at 104 million rials ($96), leaving many unable to cope with the rising cost of living.
Another woman posted a video comparing rice prices year-over-year: “This rice cost 11 million rials ($10) last year. Now it’s 33 million rials ($30). Khamenei, for 46 years you chased missiles, war, death to this and that, conquering this and that peak. Today, every calamity you inflicted is boomeranging on you.”
In another clip, a woman displayed two plastic bags of fruit—bananas, oranges, apples, and grapes—costing 20 million rials ($18). She narrated a comparison during the video. “In 1977, a Mercedes Benz coupe was 4 million rials (equal to $3 now). Now I pay this amount for fruit that vanishes in two days.”
A man driving through Tehran recorded a video responding to Interior Ministry claims that there has been no “visible shock” to the economy due to reimposition of UN sanctions.
“Want to see shock? Check the commodity basket. You're unfit to run the country. You must go. Islamic Republic corruption must end so someone honorable can govern.”
Meanwhile, an Iranian health official warned last week that about 120,000 Iranians die each year from nutrition-related causes, as rising food prices and declining consumption of staples such as dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables deepen the country’s public health crisis.
